Hague Accreditation
Adoption Advocates International was happy to be among the first group of agencies to receive its Council on Accreditation approval in February of 2008. This designation was the culmination and reflection of years of experience in international adoption as well as months of work by AAI to demonstrate to reviewers that our agency has the capacity, ability, skills, and policies to operate within the framework of The Hague's principles.
The Hague Convention of Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, thankfully more simply known as the Hague Convention, was ratified by the United States in April of 2008. The purpose of the treaty is to create a framework and standards which are meant to ensure that children, biological parents, and adoptive parents are protected, informed, and honored in every way possible. Corruption and exploitation are the fundamental targets of the Hague's principles.
The following is a quotation from the convention:
| Intercountry adoptions shall be made in the best interests of the child and with respect for his or her fundamental rights. To prevent the abduction, the sale of, or traffic in children each State should take, as a matter of priority, appropriate measures to enable the child to remain in the care of his or her family of origin. |
As of January 2011, this Convention has been ratified by 83 countries. Haiti, Nepal and The Russian Federation are signatories, but have not ratified.
From the time prospective adoptive families first contact AAI, we are required to provide a number of important pieces of information with regard to our processes, expectations, fees, and placement information. Please follow the links in the blue box above for the Hague required disclosures.